Astronomy and Astrophysics – Astrophysics
Scientific paper
2008-06-18
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Astrophysics
To appear in Astrophysical Journal Letters. 5 pages. Version with high resolution figures available at http://minerva.union.
Scientific paper
10.1086/591124
We report the discovery of a ~500 kpc HI extension southwest of the Virgo Cluster HI-rich pair NGC 4532/DDO 137, detected as part of the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) Survey. The feature is the longest and most massive HI tail structure so far found in the Virgo Cluster and, at 1.8 Mpc from M87, the most distant from the main concentration of the intracluster medium. The structure is spatially and spectrally separated into two ridges and is defined by diffuse emission and discrete clumps of mass 2.5 - 6.8 x 10**7 solar masses. All emission is blue-shifted with respect to the NGC 4532/DDO 137 pair emission. Including diffuse emission, the structure has a total mass of up to 7 x 10**8 solar masses, equivalent to ~10% of the system's HI mass. Optical R-band imaging finds no counterparts to a level of 26.5 mag arcsec**-2. The characteristics of the structure appear most consistent with a tidal origin.
Balonek Thomas J.
Brosch Noah
Giovanelli Riccardo
Haynes Martha P.
Higdon James L.
No associations
LandOfFree
A 500 kpc HI Extension of the Virgo Pair NGC4532/DDO137 Detected by the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) Survey does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this scientific paper.
If you have personal experience with A 500 kpc HI Extension of the Virgo Pair NGC4532/DDO137 Detected by the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) Survey, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and A 500 kpc HI Extension of the Virgo Pair NGC4532/DDO137 Detected by the Arecibo Legacy Fast ALFA (ALFALFA) Survey will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFWR-SCP-O-273482